Discover ISO
How the ISO system is managed
All strategic decisions are referred to the ISO members, who meet for an annual General Assembly. The proposals put to the members are developed by the ISO Council, drawn from the membership as a whole, which resembles the board of directors of a business organization.
ISO Council meets twice a year and its membership is rotated to ensure that it is representative of ISO's membership.
ISO's operations are managed by a Secretary-General, which is a permanent appointment resembling the chief executive of a business enterprise. The Secretary-General reports to the ISO Council, the latter being chaired by the President who is a prominent figure in standardization or in business, elected for two years.
The Secretary-General is based at ISO Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, with a compact staff which provides administrative and technical support to the ISO members, coordinates the decentralized standards' development programme, and publishes the output.
Discover ISO
- ISO's name
- Why standards matter
- What standards do
- Who standards benefit
- The ISO brand
- How to recognize an ISO standard
- The scope of ISO's work
- Examples of the benefits standards provide
- What's different about ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
- Why conformity assessment is important
- What "international standardization" means
- ISO's origins
- Who can join ISO
- How the ISO system is managed
- How the ISO system is financed
- How ISO decides to develop a standard
- Who develops ISO standards
- How ISO standards are developed
- ISO's international partners
- ISO's regional partners
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